The Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert
by Stratagemini
Summary: A series of One-Shots with the same premise: Taylor Hebert with the powers of various Marvel Superheroes instead of Insect Control.
1. Chapter 1

The Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert!

World 212

"Don't let her appearance deceive you! She's the most dangerous villain you will ever face."

"Really?" Crucible inquired. He was new to this particular city, but he couldn't possibly see how a single low level master could inspire such immense respect and fear from Clockblocker, who was so lackadaisical he was used as a cautionary tale in the Wards teams throughout the country on why you need to respect your superiors and your foes.

"She's much more dangerous than her appearance would imply."

"But, she looks so, cute?"

"Yeah, It makes you underestimate her. She's no Nice guy, but even knowing what we know about her people still underestimate her. She's taken out Lung, The entire team of Wards, Glory Girl, Bakuda, Lung Again, Shadow Stalker, Coil, Mannequin, Dragon, and even Echidna!"

"Yeah about Echidna..."

"Right, sorry, I can't tell you about Echidna. That whole thing was terrifying though. Not Just because of echidna, but because of Her as well."

"Look, I don't get what's so dangerous about her? She's just a low level master."

"First off, she's not just a low level master. She's also got razor sharp claws-"

"I've seen the files, they're not that sharp-"

"Razor Sharp Claws!"

"Fine."

"And a semi-prehensile tail-"

"How does that work? how is it semi-prehensile?"

"She can move it around as she likes, but she can't grab things with it."

"I'm not sure it works like that-"

"Not Important! Not only does she has razor sharp claws and a semi-prehensile tail, but there's also her master rating to worry about."

"I read up on that. I don't get what the big deal is, It's not like she controls humans, or robots, or something dangerous. They're just Squirrels. And she doesn't even have absolute control over them! It's just an empathic bond, it's not like she can see through their eyes or anything. Of that team I'd think Hellhound would be the master to worry about, I mean giant angry monster dogs are a lot more threatening than Squirrels."

"Just Squirrels he says... Look, Crucible. Forget what you've read. Forget what you think. Squirrel-Girl is an incredibly dangerous threat. If you underestimate her, you will lose. You might lose even if you don't underestimate her. You're not ready to fight her. if you see her. Call for back up. you can't take her. Do you understand?"

Crucible nodded. He understood. Clockblocker was having him on. A prank on the new guy. As if being locked out of the loop about that whole Echidna thing wasn't enough.

"Sure. I got it." Crucible smiled. He knew better. He wasn't going to let his first run in with Squirrel girl end in humiliation. There was no way he was running from such a harmless villain.

Clockblocker nodded and turned to leave, tossing one last piece of advice over his shoulder. "Remember, If you see her? Call for backup and run. You're not ready for her yet."

"Meh." Crucible muttered to himself after Clockblocker left. "They're just squirrels, I can take her."

Taylor Hebert with Squirrel-Girl's powers, post-Echidna Arc.


	2. Chapter 2

The Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert!

World 646

It was exhilarating. Swinging like this from building to building, nothing below to support her, nothing but the thin strand of webbing between her and a very messy death. It took her breath away each time she did it.

Allowing herself to curl into a somersault Taylor landed in a crouch on the roof of the Medcorp Tower. This was it. She'd traced the money, and it all came back to here. Medcorp. Max Anders. He was a criminal, a veritable Kingpin of crime, and no one seemed to notice. Shipments of drugs routinely disappeared from his trucks without ever being looked for. his insurance compensated him for the "loss" which he made back two-fold having thugs sell the drugs on the street. he was financing one of the gangs, but Taylor couldn't quite pin down which, the Merchants probably. She'd met Skidmark early on in her career and he didn't seem smart enough to think his way out of a paper bag, much less smart enough to run a gang without the PRT and Protectorate coming down on him like a ton of bricks.

It was going to stop now. The PRT and Protectorate couldn't stop him, he wasn't exactly a Parahuman after all, and the police looked the other way. She needed the evidence to bring him down. that's why she was here on the Medhall rooftop in an old blue and red Leotard she had in her closet and a pair of Blue tights with red slippers that matched her gloves. reaching up to check her mask to make sure her identity was secure, Taylor opened the roof access hatch and slipped into the building.

her powers were incredibly useful, not just her increased strength and agility, but her danger sense. It was phenomenal, tuned not just to physical danger, but all sorts of danger, including, as she had learned when her father opened the door to her room when she was sewing some tears in her outfit last week, the danger of discovery. It was this sense she focused on as she let her body move almost on autopilot, clinging to the ceiling, bouncing around laser beams and crawling on the walls to avoid the gaze of the security cameras. Her powers were perfect for this sort of work. It's why she wasn't out fighting super villains, she could do more work like this, as a sort of friendly neighborhood superhero, dressed in bright primary colors fighting villains that no one else was doing anything about.

Finally she was there. Max Ander's Office lay just through the door. Clinging to the ceiling she opened the door slowly so as to allow her power to warn er if she was about to trigger any alarms. Nothing. Taylor looked inside.

Max Anders was there, standing at attention with his arms behind his back looking out the window at... what was that?

There was a glowing woman hovering just outside the window. Carefully Taylor took out her camera and snapped a picture, making sure the flash was off. the sound of the shutter was deafening to her in the silence of the room, but Mr. Anders seemed to have more important things to worry about.

The glowing woman knocked on the glass and it opened. Taylor couldn't help but stare as the woman drifted into the office, the light around her fading to reveal a woman with brown hair and hazel eyes. Who was that? that wasn't one of the merchants...

"Kayden. It's been a little while." Clearly Anders knew the woman. Knew her well enough that he knew she was a cape. Taylor suppressed the urge t cheer. She was right, Anders was dealing with Capes. though... not too right, because this qoman certainly wasn't Squealer. A glowing woman... why did that sound so familiar?

The lights turned on and the woman seemed to relax. "Max. Thank you for the light."

"You're fine, I take it?"

"I'm fine." Small talk. Taylor's heart was racing. She could be discovered at any second. And this small talk wasn't enough to prove anything. her hand reached down to her utility belt and switched on her MP3 recorder.

"And our daughter?" Apparently Max knew her very well indeed.

"Aster's well, Theo's babysitting her tonight."

"I know. He called a little earlier to ask if he could spend the night. I told him that was fine. It'll do him good to spend time with you and Aster. Some female influences in his life." Taylor hoped that she wasn't risking spying on Max Anders and his cape consort just to find out their plans for how to take care of their kids. It certainly wasn't illegal to have a relationship with a cape after all... Still, there could be more to this.

"So, what can I do for you?" Max asked.

"The ABB is moving into more respectable neighborhoods. Lung is recruiting heavily for a push. I want to take them down before they make the first move. To do that, I'm wanting to reunite our old team."

okay, So Max anders wasn't working for the ABB, or the Merchants. An old team? Taylor didn't know many of the retired capes in the city, her search had focused more on active capes.

"And you're admitting you can't do it without my help." it was a statement, not a question. It puzzled taylor, why would this parahuman need a normal human's help? Did she require funds? Did she not know where her other team members were?

"Yes."

"Not interested," he said, spinning around in his chair to face the computer. There was a click, and the window began to open again.

There was something going on here. Some sort of power struggle Taylor was missing.

"I've talked to the others, but nobody that's worked for you is willing to be the first to join me. Some say they're worried they'll offend you. Others are just spooked, or they've already given up. They ask me why would a group of your rejects do any better than they'd managed as part of your team? I'm not getting anywhere, and time's running out. All it would take would be one word from you, and I'd have a team of four or five people. With that, I could root out and squash the ABB."

Max stood up and sat on the edge of his desk so he was facing the woman, Kayden "I don't see it being worth the effort. What's in it for me?"

That was more like it. Taylor tensed, she knew that she was about to get the information she needed to put this all together.

Suddenly, her MP3 recorder beeped. "No room left to record, please clear data cache and retry."

Well... That wasn't a good sound.

May and Kayden whipped towards the door, where she was hanging just barely in view.

"A Spy!" Max called out. "Purity! Dispose of her!"

Purity! That's who she was! That white supremacist member of the... oh. Oh. Well... that's a... DODGE!

Her Danger sense screamed at her as she flipped out of the way of purity's blast and into max Anders' office. The window was still open, and it was almost certainly the fastest way out of the building.

From the way her danger sense reacted to those blasts she did NOT want to be hit by them.

"What is this!? Some sort of mongrel!? One of the insects of the lesser races here to spy on my private life?"

"No sir! I'm just your average gay Jewish black lesbian KKK member here to collect your union dues!" Why did she say that!? What was wrong with her? And now Purity was trying to murder her harder, why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut?

"Was that a Joke? Do you think this is funny? I'm going to kill you! Squash you flat like the bug you are!"

For a moment, Taylor hoped she was getting this on tape, before she remembered just what had triggered this sequence of events in the first place.

Hoping around like a cricket on speed Taylor dodged and wove her way towards the open window before her danger sense started SCREAMING at her to spot shot.

Metal. There was a wall of blades just where she was about to land. A wall of blades blocking her escape completely.

She knew this power. She remembered it. It was on her list of capes to run away really fast from, right after Lung. Kaiser. Leader of the... Oh. Well, that's what she was missing.

Taylor Glanced at Max, no, Kaiser. He was fully armored already. Glancing at her like a pest about to be squashed.

"Well, that's a surprise. Kaiser. I never would have guessed!"

Purity was holding back now. Taylor didn't know why, but she was grateful. Kaiser was talking, more insults, more death threats. It was amazing how quickly those stopped sounding so important when you have more pressing issues to think about like getting the hell out of kaiser's tower of evil.

"Are you done now?"

"You mock me Worm?"

"Well actually, one thing?" She raised her hands placatingly palms towards Kaiser and Purity

Kaiser looked shocked at her flippant attitude, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all?

"You keep comparing me to bugs, but the thing is, that's not really correct. You see..."

In a flash she let the middle and ring fingers of each hand touch the base of her palms spraying webbing at both Kaiser and Purity.

"Bugs don't have webbing!"

She dived out the window, using her webshooter to swing around the corner of the building and cling to it like an aforementioned spider.

"KILL her! Purity, she knows who we are, she cannot be allowed to live! Hunt her down and kill her. I'll give you your team, just kill her first!"

"Don't worry max, I'll get that Spider-girl!"

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief as Purity streaked off into the night, headed down to the street where Taylor assumed Purity thought she had fallen. With a negligent gesture, Taylor took to the skies herself, using the Medhall tower itself as cover.

As soon as she could she was changing out of this costume. Tonight was a bit higher risk than she envisioned for her career as a friendly neighborhood Spider-Girl.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert**

**Earth 917**

Taylor was ambivalent about her power. Her notoriety however, she was much more sure about. When she had triggered in the car crash that had taken her mom from her, her power had protected her. It had allowed her to escape completely unharmed, well, physically anyway. She thought she was untouchable. She had even told her best friend once she stopped mourning her mother's loss, once she stopped seeing the twisted wreck that she had been launched clear from, burning behind her eyes as she tried to sleep.

Her dad knew too, but with a power like indestructible skin, her father hadn't seen any need to join the wards. She had superpowers, but her life stayed pretty much the same.

Of course, it didn't last. Something had changed after Summer camp. Emma, her best friend, the only one other than her dad she'd confided in was twisted and bitter, like she blamed Taylor for something. What that was she had no clue, but whatever it was, Emma had no trouble destroying her life. It had started small, tripping her in the halls, little jibes and insults, but when they failed to hurt her Emma escalated to cutting out the bottom of Taylor's backpack and breaking her mother's flute.

Of course, that wasn't enough to destroy her life. No, that came when Emma outed her to the entire school, breaking a bottle over her head and stabbing her with it in a fit of rage, yelling about her powers. Emma got expelled, but that didn't matter. Not with Empire 88 sympathizers finding out that the girl with the jew name had powers. Of course, That hadn't brought her her notoriety. No, that road began after she fell asleep that night.

When Taylor woke up, her house was burning. A beam had fallen across her chest and she was trapped. It didn't matter how invulnerable you were on the outside when there was smoke flooding your lungs. She didn't remember much after that. Not with the smoke making her dizzy and nauseous, and the fire burning around her, but somehow, she talked into something more. Super strength. She was told that she burst through the wall half dead, that Panacea was needed to heal her since the doctors couldn't get to her lungs. She was told that her father hadn't made it.

And just like that, Taylor as an orphan. And once the news got wind of what, or rather who started the fire, Taylor was the most famous orphan on the East Coast.

Emma was put on trial. Taylor didn't know the charge, but the girl that had ruined her life, that had betrayed her trust, had been tried as an adult. The case was nationally televised and Emma had ended up convicted for what was basically outing a cape, though the law was some complicated string of words that almost but didn't quite mean that. She had been sentenced to 5 years in the state's maximum security facility due to her "violent tendencies."

Taylor became a ward of the state. But the lack of justice for her father had gotten to her, and she had run away to waging her own private war against the Empire 88, and doing occasional odd jobs to support herself as a sort of "Hero for Hire."

That sideline was why she was in Boston now, tearing up Accord's office.

"Stop this! There's no point In this destruction!" Taylor could hear over the loud speaker as she ripped an Corinthian column from the grand hallway leading into Accord's office and used it as a battering ram to get inside. the door splintered beneath her might. Her costume, (if you could call a yellow shirt and jeans such a thing) was tattered where the splinters hit but Taylor's unbreakable skin was completely unharmed.

After several swings, Accord stood before her. "When my ambassadors reported a crazy child attacking my building I knew it had to be you!"

"Where's my money, Accord?" Taylor asked, bracing her makeshift battering ram against the floor.

"Money!? What money are you talk-" Accord's eues widened comically. "You mean the $200 I owed you for tracking down the Travelers? You came all the way here to Boston for that? A Paltry $200!" Accord shouted incredulously. "You are Crazy!"

Accord pounded his desk with his fist "I thought you were working for Blasto! I thought that chaotic fool had finally discovered my attempts to kill him! And all of this is for some stupid debt?"

"It's not stupid to me Accord!I put in the work, I got results, and I deserve to be paid for it."

"You sorely try my patience and good nature, Hebert!" Accord Raged. "There's riots and chaos in the streets outside! I have no time for your Trivialities!"

"You want me out of here?" Taylor asked. "Pay me."

"I think not!" Accord said, pressing a button on his desk. "Ambassadors, to me!"

"Fine, if you don't want to pay me, I'll pay myself!" taylor said, leaping forward and knocking accord out with one well placed punch.

When the ambassadors rushed through the broken door they could Taylor Hebert rifling through Accord's pockets for his wallet. "All I want is the money he owes me, plus expenses for having to come collect it. You can wait there while I get it, or, we can add your medical bills to the cost accord will be paying today. Which do you want?"

The ambassadors stood there, ready to take action should Taylor be lying, but unwilling to engage her otherwise.

Triumphantly, Taylor pulled Accord's wallet out of his pocket and pulled out all of his cash, 10 hundred dollar bills. "Thanks. tell Accord that he's been blacklisted. So don't try calling again." With that, Taylor leapt out of the large picture window and onto the street 3 stories below. It was hard being a hero for hire, but if she wanted to eat this month, she had to work. And she couldn't afford to have people think they couldn't pay her, no matter how little the job cost.


	4. Chapter 4

The Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert

World 10012

"My name is Taylor. I remember that much, for now at least. That's why i started these journals. I've got this... memory thing. I pick up anyone's moves just by seeing them. Photographic Reflexes. It's been that way ever since the... the thing that happened. There's just one problem. It's a lot of data. More than my brain's got room for. So I... forget things. Things that about combat, about survival. People, places... I can't remember what I did last week. By Monday, I probably won't remember this journal entry."

Taylor Hebert paused, adjusting her skull faced mask.

"It's not all bad. I think. I can do all sorts of amazing things. I can leap from roof to roof. I can glide between the buildings of... this city, on the rush-hour thermals. I can almost remember how I learned that one. I can wield a halberd, and pick a lock. I can climb buildings without any gear. I can pick pockets too. That one's really useful, especially since I can't really hold down a job if I keep forgetting I have one.

"I'm not sure why I'm keeping these journals. I can't remember where I put the first ones, if I made any. I'd like to think I did, but, I can't remember. In case I forget where I keep them, I'm keeping my journals in the dresser next to my bed now. They should be easier to find.

"I'm working with my dad now. It's not really a job, more like errands. We're helping to clean up the city of the gangs like the Merchants and the protectorate. I'm pretty sure I learned how to use a halberd from the Protectorate's leader, but something about that doesn't seem quite right. I can't remember... Maybe Lisa will know?

"Lisa's my best friend, She's brilliant. Dad introduced me to her and I'm pretty sure she she knows everything. She works for my dad. At least, I think she does. I get the feeling she doesn't like him. I'm not sure why.

"They're why I wear the mask on my errands. I want to protect them. They, they don't have powers like I can't defend themselves from the gangs. Doing good in a city like... this city, you make enemies. Enemies that would have no problems going through my dad and my best friend to get to me. The mask protects them. If the bad guys don't know they're important to me, they won't go after them.

"That's all for today. I have work to do. Dad wants me to help rescue a girl from some kidnappers. They have her locked up in this big house with armed guards. Dad says they're treating her like their own daughter, even though they kidnapped her. There are some real sickos in this world. That's why I'm glad I have powers. Even though I can't really remember things, at least I can still do some good."


	5. Chapter 5

**Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert**

**Earth 10019**

She was blind. Not now, though she _had_ lost her sight. Before.

It had only been a month since the locker had taken her eyes. The sepsis had caused the doctors to take them out completely, lest they kill her. But in that month Taylor had experienced things she'd never felt before. It was almost like that song from that one Disney film from Earth Aleph she saw once at Emma's. She couldn't sing with all the voices of the mountain, but she could hear them.

It took her a week to stop screaming. The cotton sheets were unbearable. The denim jeans her dad brought were even. Worse. And the noise... She thought she'd go insane. She'd thought she had already gone insane.

But it wasn't insanity. It was a new world!

She could smell when people were upset now. When they were sad, or angry, or... other emotions.

She could hear someone's heart racing from across a crowded room. She could read fingerprints from a firm handshake.

Of course, all that noise, all that information. It made living in the city impossible. When she could smell dog shit three blocks away it made it hard to ignore the way the city smelled pervasively like crap.

She still didn't understand just what was going on all the time. There were smells she didn't understand, and she could feel a person's body heat on her skin, but she couldn't quite make out what it was showing her.

That's why she was here, in the woods. With nothing but a knife and her cane. She'd told her dad what happened. How she could see now, what Emma did to her. She'd just meant to reassure him, and to get him to let her come to the woods and hunt in peace so that she could get a handle on her new senses. It had only made him angrier. He had gone into Alan Barnes' office to yell at him, and long story short, Alan was suspended until he sorted this out, and Emma was off to military school. Her dad had mentioned that she needed to run of to the woods now, and Alan had given her his cabin in the Adirondacks in return for what his daughter did to her. She supposed that it was a settlement, an agreement not to sue Emma fir what she'd done. It probably wasn't worth the loss of her eyes, at least it wouldn't have been if she hadn't triggered in the aftermath of the surgery. Of course, Alan had also agreed to pay for her education, so that helped a lot.

It was enough. And she appreciated the spirit it was given in.

The whole story had come out when Alan had come to apologize to her. What Emma had gone through, her new friend. Jail wasn't a good place for Emma to get better, neither was military school, but maybe between that and therapy she'd realize that what she did was wrong.

Taylor had been thinking a lot about justice lately. The system was broken. The poor, the depressed, the weak, the downtrodden, they didn't need lengthy prison sentences which locked them into lives of crime. And the rich and powerful, the leaders of gangs, the organized criminals, those who stole the life savings of those who trusted them, they didn't deserve to get off with a fine and a few months community service.

As she tracked the deer, Taylor considered the problem. With Alan paying for her schooling she could eventually become a lawyer. That would let her look out for those who needed defending in the legal system. But the gangs? Well, she had time. She'd think of something eventually.

A/N: Since people have been asking who various Chapters are about, I've decided to keep an author's note at the end of the chapter.

Earth 212 - Squirrel Girl

Earth 646 - Spider-Girl

Earth 917 - Luke Cage

Earth 10012 - Taskmaster

Earth 10019 - Daredevil


	6. Chapter 6

**The Marvelous World Of Taylor Hebert**

**Earth 347**

War Journal, Entry #3

They started this war by killing Emma. Taylor listened, terrified over the phone as they carved out her eye an left her to die in the street like a dog. She could hear Emma's dad's sobs begging them not to hurt his daughter until there was a sound like a car backfiring and Alan Barnes went silent.

Frantically, she called the police, and her dad, but she didn't know where Emma and her father were, and she was too late.

They linked the wounds to a member of the ABB. She was set to testify at his trial. Then, one day after the list of witnesses was released, Taylor came home to find her house burning, the front door busted open from the outside.

Her father was inside, she tried to run in and get him, but a neighbor held her back. It was too dangerous.

Taylor struggled, but she couldn't get free. Her father and her life burned in front of her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She testified anyway. But despite the blood and semen linking him to the scene, despite his fingerprints on the knife in his pocket still covered in the goop from Emma's eyes, despite her identifying him, matching his voice to what she heard, the scum got off.

Taylor had some money. The life insurance, the insurance on the house, the money Alan Barnes had given her dad. It was all hers. If she wanted to, she'd be set for life. She could leave, move to a better city, forget about her old life and start anew. She didn't.

Taylor's gone now. The useless girl who stood by and did nothing is no more. I am justice. I am the punishment that the filth and scum of this city deserve. The bullet to the face that they've been begging for their whole lives. The system is corrupt, the courts are useless. But you can't bribe a bullet. I'd like to see them try.

Earth 347 Punisher


	7. Chapter 7

**The Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert**

**Earth 718**

"Can't stop me now! I'm having such a good time! I'm having a ball!"

Dennis stared at the girl, the cape who had just come barreling out of the bank right towards him. She was wearing a reddish brown body suit with metal fingerless gloves and metal bands around her arms. She was huge, 6 foot tall at least, possibly even 6 and a half. And in a tie for the strangest thing about her, she had forgone a traditional mask in favor of a giant metal bowl shaped helmet whose lower edge bolted to her suit, ans she was singing Queen's Don't stop me now as a battle cry, and getting it wrong.

Can't stop me now? Wouldn't she be in for a surprise when instead of Gallant, like the girl was probably expecting, she got a cape who could stop her dead in her tracks.

Of course, the trick was timing it right.

The pavement shattered beneath her feet as she lumbered toward him like a runaway train. Even though he knew he could stop her, Dennis couldn't help but be a bit intimidated.

"Can't stop me now! If I wanna have a good time, I'll get in a brawl!"

This was it. She was almost close enough to touch, just one one step and there she was- why wasn't she stopped? He froze her! Why was she still-!

Dennis woke up to the reassuring bwat of a heart monitor and the smell of disinfectant.

"What happened?" He asked himself.

"Now that you're awake and all healed up," Chris responded from where he was sitting, unnoticed in the corner, fiddling with something on his laptop. "I can safely say that that was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen happen to you."

"What?"

"I mean did you even try to freeze her? You must have, they got a close up of your face in Gallant's helmet. No way you'd look that shocked if you hadn't."

"What."

"Actually, someone got it on their cell phone, you can see for yourself." Chris turned the laptop around and pressed play on the full screen video player.

"They added background music." Dennis stated in shock as he watched the girl sing along to the melodies of Brian May as she barreled towards him. He couldn't help but think he looked a lot more heroic, and maybe even, dare he say it? Gallant in Dean's armor.

There he was, holding out his palm in the classic "stop motion" and there she was tossing him aside, right at whoever was holding the camera like a sack of beans, or maybe one of those pool noodles?

And yep. Close up of his shocked face as he flew towards the camera and crashed into it. And That's all.

"She didn't freeze." Dennis remarked in horrified shock.

"Nothing stopped her." Chris explained. "She mowed through us like freshly cut grass. She was basically unstoppable. Thanks for taking out the camera by the way. Because of you, the rest of our humiliating defeat wasn't recorded."

"So only I got to be humiliated? Great."

"Come on Dennis, you're not seeing the best part!"

"An unstoppable Juggernaut cuts through us like butter and I got humiliated and the whole bit was filmed. Nevermind the 'best part' where's the 'good part'?"

"Whose armor were you wearing?"

"Dean's...?"

"And what was he wearing?"

"My Clockblocker... suit... Oh!"

"Now you get it? Clockblocker wasn't humiliated when his power failed him, Gallant was pulling the old 'Stop right there villain!' Bit and got hilariously tossed aside! Clockblocker was defeated, sure, but no one knows how, and better yet, no one filmed it!"

"Hah!" Clockblocker laughed heartily, his enthusiasm for the day restored. "You're right Chris!" He stated trying yo get his words out over his laughter. "That really is the best part!"

"Want me to play it again?"

"So I can see Gallant's hilarious defeat? Of course I do."

With that, Chris pressed play again, and let the good times roll.

A/N: Earth 718 Juggernaut


	8. Chapter 8

**The Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert**

**Earth 10014**

Amy hated her. It was an accident, but Taylor could understand why. Her sister had survived Leviathan's attack, she was nearly invincible, and to lose her like that?

It wasn't Taylor's fault, but that didn't stop her from feeling like Amy had cut her heart out each time she caught her glaring at her. To see her sister, no. Not her Sister. Taylor was an only child. To see Victoria's sister so full of hate toward her. It was unbearable.

The part of her that was Victoria was confident that Amy could fix this. That she'd just hold her hand and everything would go back to normal.

Taylor knew better. Panacea's healing,biological manipulation really (and wasn't that terrifying when the person who hated you the most in the world can rewrite biology?) was touch activated. Amy wouldneed to touch Taylor's skin to even figureout what happened. But as they both knew, Amy couldn't let that happen. The second Amy touched her, Taylor would start to steal her powers, her memories, she'd start to steal Amy herself.

That's what had happened to Victoria. That was why the other girl was in her head and in a coma, it was why she was being held at the protectorate oil rig 'for her safety'. Triggering in the aftermath of an endbringer attack was common enough, even injuring others when you triggered happened sometimes. But injuring a capedoing search and rescue after an endbringer attack? That came close tobreaking the truce. So even though she was just as invincible as Glory Girl now, Taylor was glad for the protection of the Protectorate.

It was clearly an accident. Everyone realized that. Her trigger had knocked out Glory Girl while she was trying to rescue her. When she came to, Victoria was comatose on top of her, and she had the strength, and thanks to her new-found flight the leverage, to get herself free.

It probably didn't help when she arrived at the Search and rescue station frantically begging for Amy to help her. No one had any idea what had happened until that bitch who held Amy hostage at the bank told her to drop glory girl, that she was killing her.

Touch-based absorption. With a single touch she stole life, powers, memories. She was a walking, well, flying now, violation of the unwritten rules. She'd unmask anyone she touched. Her life was over.

"It's not that bad." Taylor turned around. It was that psychic bitch that held her sister, No! Victoria's sister! hostage.

"Wow, you really are messed up in there. So that's where glory girl's mind went. You're pirating it."

"Pirating?" Taylor asked, not sure what to think of this grinning fox-like blonde.

"She'll recover eventually, with time. Even with Panacea it might take a year or two. You pretty much drained her dry. But until she does your copy of her mind, and her powers, will persist. It's not exactly one to one. She'll recover before you do."

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't stolen her sister from Amy. At least, not permanently.

"You probably shouldn't let people know how long your copies persist though." Lisa added. "Just in case."

"As for the rest of it. Touch my hand."

"What? No!"

"Your power steals powers first, then memories and life. It all sort of happens at the same time, but if you keep the touch quick, then you won't have to worry about it stealing their minds. You can be a hero if you want to be."

Taylor shook her head. "No."

"A villain then? That's fine too." Tattletale recovered.

"No, I don't want that either."

"Well, what do you want then?" The blonde asked, more so Taylor could hear the answer than so she herself could.

"I just want to fix this, to turn these powers off."

"Tinkertech might do it. A power suppression colkar. But that stuff is expensive and needs constant maintenance. You'll need money."

Money. There was a word for that. When capes didn't go out and fight but turned their powers to profits instead. Rogue.

She could do it. There was a lot she could dowith Glory Girl's powers while they lasted. Clear the boat graveyard for one thing. Yes. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that this was the path for her.

"I'll be a Rogue."

Earth 10014 Rogue


	9. Chapter 9

**Marvelous World of Taylor Hebert**

**Earth 10131**

This wasn't what she wanted.

There was fire everywhere, the room was black with cloying smoke that scraped at her lungs. The palanquin was in ruins. Bottles were shattered on the floor, slices carved in the walls and ceilings. Newter was dead, lying sliced open on the floor, gutted like a fish, a snail-like man lay behind him slowly struggling to breathe.

Taylor ran through the building desperately searching for someone who was still alive. Her eyes were nearly blinded by the heat radiating from the fires and the smoke, but she kept looking.

She ran up the stairs. There had to be someone still alive!

This was all her fault! She should have died, she should have let her powers consume her from the inside out as the energy bubbled out of her until she burst. She should have done anything other than make a deal with that woman!

If she had known! This wasn't part of the deal. Gather the capes on the list, give them the envelopes, bring them to the Palanquin... She had never mentioned this!

The door barring her way exploded. It took more effort now than before, but Taylor gladly spent it.

The room was collapsing, and worse, it was empty as well. Just a card table with a half played poker game, a broken floor, collapsed ceiling beams, a locked metal liquor chest and fire all around her. Useless. She felt useless!

Just as Taylor turned to leave she heard it. Something banging from within the locked chest.

There was someone inside! Taylor tried to get to the box, but the floor in front of it was gone. Collapsed into a burning hole. She could see the way the box was padlocked shut, but she couldn't get to it!

Taylor searched through her pockets for something to throw at it. Nothing. Not even her keys!

She looked around the room, desperate for a solution.

There! On the table! The cards! She knew how to throw those. She'd spent a month learning how, competing every day with her best friend Emma. The relationship may have broken down, but she still had the skills...

Taylor grabbed a card and charged it. The jack of hearts...

It was harder than before. The doctor had delivered on her promise, whatever her suited friend had done to Taylor's head she definitely didn't have to fear losing control any more. Before her power hit like tsunami, threatening to tear Taylor apart in its wake. Now? It felt like a river, deceptively quick, and deep, difficult to control, but she could manage the flow now. The card hit the saturation point and Taylor threw it, watching as it hit the lock and detonated taking the lock, and the entire locking mechanism, with it.

A girl pushed the box open.

She was small, fragile. Her eyes looked like there might have been innocence in them once. Now? Hatred.

"We have to get out of here!" Taylor called out. "The place is coming down!"

The other girl looked around. "How?"

It was a good question. The floor between the chest and the door was gone. Below it? A fiery abyss full of jagged burning wood and bits of metal.

Taylor saw the pipe. It was hanging down over the gaping hole, the heat making it practically glow in her sight. A long, straight length of pipe as long as Taylor was tall.

Taylor grabbed it, breaking it off with a quick twist and extending it towards the girl. Something was wrong, the room was changing. "Grab hold! I'll pull you to safety! "

The wooden floors were heating up. Changing. No, not wood... Metal?

The fires flared as the girl grabbed hold and the world around them changed.

Taylor couldn't pay attention to what was happening. It wasn't important. All that mattered right then was saving this girl; making up for her mistake.

Taylor pulled on the pole with all her might, wedging her end beneath the mass of her entire body. "Climb over." Taylor called out. The pole was tilted upwards, all the girl needed to do was slide across.

She watched, her heart beating frantically as the girl grabbed onto the pole with her arms and legs and began to shimmy across. One foot. Two feet. Three feet. Four feet. Almost there. Finally! Taylor grabbed the girl's hands and pulled her into a hug as she lifted her off the pole and into her arms.

"You're alive!" Taylor marveled to herself. "Oh god, you're alive!"

The room was still shifting, and the fire still raging, but Taylor didn't care. If she could just save this one girl...

"Who-?" The girl started to ask, pulling away from Taylor.

"There's no time!" Taylor replied, grabbing the pole, no, the staff that had helped her save the girl. "The place is burning, the room is changing, and the others are still looking for survivors. We have to get you out of here!"

The girl looked at her strangely, but otherwise didn't respond.

They didn't have time for this! Maybe she didn't understand? Simple then. She could do simple. She looked at the girl.

"There are men hunting you. Come with me if you want to live."

The girl took her hand.

A/N: Earth 10131 - Gambit


End file.
